Why do you want to be a Priest, and what is your plan for making that goal happen?

I believe that becoming Clergy is the natural trajectory of my individual Druidry. When I took the first steps on a Pagan path at the age of 14, I lacked direction, discretion, discipline, and dedication. Despite such failings I cultivated a rich personal spirituality. At my milk crate altar in my bedroom closet I performed rituals which generated real results.

Repeatedly I have found myself in the position of acting priestess. Perhaps it is time to acknowledge and more fully embrace that role in a substantial way.

In college it wasn't long before I had organized a group of similarly minded students. Without real intention to become so, I functioned as the de facto priestess of the group and subsequently became a sort of Pagan ambassador to the school's interfaith council. After connecting with the primarily Wiccan community in my town, I was pressured to begin a Druid study group. As was to be expected, I became the primary liturgist and area representative of things Druid, a position I probably didn't deserve, but have grown to fill over the years.

Once my Grove was up and going, the responsibilities of the priestess outside of ritual began to assert themselves. Folk called me in the middle of the night to discuss their dreams. People dropped by my apartment to talk about their problems. I was called on to mediate disputes which often had little to do with Pagan religion at all. At first it baffled and disturbed me but I was fortunate to have a wise, if whacked out, hermit-mystic type friend. He reminded me that if one hands out a shingle, the universe will come calling, and in starting the Grove I had taken on a certain role; while it is fun to lead ritual, there are other duties as well. I accepted that, left out the metaphorical shingle and haven't (seriously) looked back.

Now I have decided to paint the shingle and print up business cards.To that end, I intend to be accepted to the Clergy Training Program and to work my way through its Circles. While I do, my work within my community and Region and even the international organization will be deepened. I believe that my Clergy work will feed my organizational work and vice versa. I am fortunate that others have put in the effort to develop a measured and well-paced Training Program which makes achieving the goal of priesthood accessible.

Why do you want to be an ADF Priest in particular?

ADF is my tribal home. The entirety of my religious and spiritual self is so bound up with ADF that it is impossible for me to imagine aspiring to any other priesthood.

I believe that I spent a great deal of effort creating new groups in which to practice my faith because the existing groups I had found just didn't impress or nourish me. Discovering ADF was a relief. Within Our Druidry I have grown as a person, not just a Pagan, and I have made valuable relationships, both spiritual and mundane; sacred and profane.

I currently can do most of the things an ADF priestess would do. I can, thanks to an internet ordination, perform weddings, funerals, and baptisms. However, I would not feel like I pulled a fast one on the state were I ordained by my own church. I want to shed that feeling of trickery and be able to perform these sacred actions in the service of the Kindreds and of ADF.

What does being a Priest mean to you in the cultural context of your Hearth Culture? "Priest" is laden with many connotations and rife with expectations. In my understanding, a priest/ess, primarily, stands as a conduit between the folk and the Kindreds. Surely everyone can and may make their own connections, but the priest/ess may reasonably be expected to do so reliably well. A priest/ess must be ready and able to perform such rites as are needed by the folk and be able to provide guidance, if not explicit training, to those who wish to perform rites and walk the path of Our Druidry themselves.

I think of those to whom I have turned for advice and counsel in ADF. What is it about them that makes me think of them as "Priest"? They have demonstrated inspiring ritual skills, have offered opinions that are wise, in every arena in which I have encountered them they have acted with integrity as well as piety. A tough bill to fill, and quite a code of conduct to which to aspire, but I hope that I might eventually be as useful to the folk of ADF as some of the current Clergy has been to me.

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